Ousted GOP Committee Member Is Reinstated

William Dougherty, who sued the Central Committee of the Orange County Republican Party after it ousted him for publicly endorsing President Clinton, won his seat back Wednesday.

During a court hearing on the matter, party officials said Dougherty would be reinstated to fulfill his current term in office, which expires in December. However, a party official said Dougherty, who was reelected to serve another term on the committee, will be the target of another ouster attempt in January after he is sworn in to his next term.

Fred Whitaker, second vice chairman of the central committee, said the party still believes it was justified in removing Dougherty but agreed to let him finish his term because it is about to expire. Additionally, he said, the party’s bylaws may not have been properly followed when it expelled him.

Dougherty, a retire Marine Corps colonel, said he was “tickled to death” to be reinstated and does not believe the party will be able to remove him again. He said he cannot be expelled for a violation that did not occur during his elected term. Since his new term begins in January, his actions in October do not apply, he contends.

Dougherty angered party loyalists in October when he joined about a dozen Republicans in supporting Clinton’s reelection instead of Bob Dole, the Republican presidential candidate. Dougherty also had been critical of the leadership of the party in the county, saying they represent the “religious right wing . . . and are all anti-abortion.”

On Wednesday, he said party officials never should have kicked him off the committee in the first place.

“It was just stupidity and arrogance on their part,” he said.

Dougherty appeared willing to continue antagonizing party loyalists after his reinstatement, saying he was very “pleased” that Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) has apparently lost his seat to Democratic challenger Loretta Sanchez.

Furthermore, he vowed to continue making waves within the party and rattling its leadership, particularly Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes.

“I’m back, and Fuentes had better watch out,” he said.